[@Dartbored Fairy]

Shaking their head as they turned the corner while descending the stairs to the lobby, Ahnciel took note of the empty desk which once held the self-asserted employ of the innkeep. The events had transpired just as the eviscerated corpse in the armored man's room hinted. The terminology for referring to the person now likely in the guard's custody sat poorly with the Ahnciel. Any other day and any other place, and Ahnci would think of them as a knight from nowhere. Unknown but at least with their dignity implied.

They wore their armor well, and it was unfortunately the only compliment the Isparian knight was able to offer, knowing so little of the situation.
[i]Kaitra's[/i] thoughts kept flickering back to the innkeeper and she soon found herself breathing shallow half-breaths, their mind echoing with speculations and frustration. She was thankful that they'd yet to pick up breakfast as a sudden wave of nausea drove them out into the rain to escape the stale earthy stench of old planks of wood and a faint metallic tinge of blood somewhere in the memory of the scene.

Ahnciel wasn't sure why it bothered them so badly to believe their eyes, but something was disgustingly off about the whole affair that it took Keepa breaking from her usual torpor to protest to being rained on.
The beast's coat bristled in the cold rain, gekkering softly and squirming in annoyance until its ride pulled the hood of their cloak over the two to shield from the elements. Oil treated fabrics chased water down their form like off a duck's back as Ahnciel steadied themselves with another hand on the outside wall out the inn just beside the door.
[color=8882be]"Shut up, iz not that bad"[/color] they hissed at the both of them, rolling their shoulders as they forced themselves back on the heel they turned on before starting off down the sidewalk. They conveniently relished in the fresh but thick air of the rainy day, however, they had only made it five steps and half way into a thought about who to ask about the Agartha Mine without arousing too much suspicion when their own was confirmed by a set of eyes watching them.

At first, Ahnci had assumed they were simply an onlooker, getting their jollies off on the idea of the 'handsome' town guard bringing a murderer to justice, before noticing how their eyes followed them as they departed from the scene. It was a poor choice of interest, as the young knight was hardly in the mood to entertain commoners until noticing their expression. The cross of the visor and thin veil made it easier than imagined to watch the girl without turning their head, and Ahnci stopped in his tracks the [i]instant[/i] he was sure they were being watched.
Returning the stare as they beckoned, Ahnciel doubled their pace to cross the cobblestone road and follow around the corner with a wide enough berth that they wouldn't be in range for a sucker-punch the moment they turned down the way the girl had disappeared down.

Interesting as it was to have already gained the interest of a supposed local, they were hardly eager enough to let their sensibilities leave them in favor of answers...or perhaps...at [i]least?[/i]...better questions.
With a pace a step below a jog, the girl was getting what they wanted from the paladin who casually rested a hand on the pommel of their broad rapier to steady it through the skipped steps before turning the corner on their own terms.